Video Game Rivalries Get Personal With ‘Madden NFL 12′

Another NFL season means another edition of EA’s best-selling video game sports franchise, Madden NFL. While last year’s campaign from Heat “Madden to the People” was a sunny affair focusing on NFL players surprising fans, this year’s campaign from San Francisco-based Heat is all about, as they put it, “talking shit.”

As any Madden NFL gamer knows, a huge component of the game is trash talking to your friends while playing. From my own experience, many PlayStation controllers have met their end after being thrown to the ground post-game, either out of celebration or out of frustration. As the above TV spot explains, there’s nothing worse than a braggadocious sibling taunting you after blitzing every down. But, that’s why the good Lord invented WR slants to find the vacated space that linebackers leave behind.

Included in the campaign is a Facebook app called the Smack Shack, where players can taunt Facebook friends in a variety of inventive and devastating ways. Players are encouraged to “check in with your rival’s mom at a Swiss Chalet,” “change your relationship status with their future wife as their yoga pal,” “tag yourself in photos of your rivals girlfriend,” and “create an event with your rivals ex-girlfriend to go shopping for some hot pants.” Included are prerecorded videos from athletes like Mark Sanchez, DeSean Jackson and Ray Lewis and others. Catch a second TV spot called “Replay” after the jump. Now, if there was only a Facebook app that could do the same thing for Fantasy Football rivalries…